St.Mawes castle, English Heritage,

Sunday, 29th May - (Catch-up)

It started as a coolish morning, and we decided to go and have a look at St. Mawes Castle. It is through the town and up on the headland, and you have to crawl though the town and past some really nice houses to get to it. The crawling is twofold - first you have to wait for dawdling tourists and locals, and secondly the road is so narrow, it really only affords access one way and you have to tuck in to allow people to come past. Of course it isn't helped by any of those places where people decide they just have to park, and so you creep past them as well. 

The castle itself, when you get to it, is set down into the headland, and was never involved in any battle. The people of the time realised that it could not be defended from a land-based attack (from behind), and so the poeple holding the castle surrendered without firing a shot! It was never damaged during the Cromwell era either. It is a really nice "round" castle with gun turrets in all directions, and much more within the walls than you have any concept of until you get inside. It is little changed from the Henry VIII times

The castle doesn't appear to have been 'lived-in' as there are no grand rooms, and it hasn't been remodelled or Victorianised. After crossing the bridge you descend to different levels and then out the bottom to the gardens, which are right on the sea wall, looking across to Pendennis Castle near Falmouth.

After our tour, we decided to re-join English Heritage, and use the membership for the rest of our trip, as we will be going to Pendennis, Tintagel, Stonehenge, Dover, and Deal castles, and it really does benefit you to join if you know you are going to visit these places, as it saves heaps on individual entry fees.